


FE Rarepair Week 2019 Day 3 - Cats

by dr33g



Series: FE Rarepair Week 2019 [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, FE Rarepair Week 2019, Feelings Realization, M/M, also yes i put aus plural, and both are in this fic somehow, forde likes cats and kyle swoons, however i put them there so ppl knew they were coming lol, linhardt and the original character show up for the very last sentence. cameo, linhardt is a fordekyle lovechild js, my fe8 modern aus, thats it thats the fic, this is based off of my magnum opus, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-10 19:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr33g/pseuds/dr33g
Summary: Kyle thinks that whoever invented community service hours as a requirement for graduation was, frankly, full of shit. Forde and Ephraim had been saying so for the past three weeks as they came up with a plan. The only reason Kyle didn’t voice his agreement was thatsomeonehad to be the voice of reason, and in their group, between Forde’s IQ and Ephraim’s impulsive nature, it was always,always,going to be him.(Though, to be fair, Kyle didn’t exactly think of himself as the most intelligent person, either. However, he was the designated mom friend. And mom friend he would be.)





	FE Rarepair Week 2019 Day 3 - Cats

**Author's Note:**

> fe8 is my special interest so im sad that this one turned out so short :pensive: oh well my selenismaire and cormartur are gonna have to make up for it  
hope u enjoy !!!!

Kyle thinks that whoever invented community service hours as a requirement for graduation was, frankly, full of shit. Forde and Ephraim had been saying so for the past three weeks as they came up with a plan. The only reason Kyle didn’t voice his agreement was that  _ someone _ had to be the voice of reason, and in their group, between Forde’s IQ and Ephraim’s impulsive nature, it was always,  _ always, _ going to be him.

(Though, to be fair, Kyle didn’t exactly think of himself as the most intelligent person, either. However, he was the designated mom friend. And mom friend he would be.)

Still, it had been Forde’s idea to do it all together, and finally,  _ finally, _ they had agreed on something to do.

They were going to volunteer at the local animal shelter. 

Their training session was in an hour, and Kyle was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering why he was dreading taking care of some animals for 2 hours a week. What if they didn’t like him? What if they took a shit on his good jeans?

_ What if  _ Valter _ was there? _

Thankfully, in all likelihood, the creepy captain of the club soccer team a state over would likely never show up to their small animal shelter, but if he did, Kyle was absolutely certain he would lose it. Shit could be cleaned. A group of animals not liking him was not the end of the world.

Deep breaths.

He put on one of his nicer shirts and, not his  _ good _ jeans, but his  _ decent _ jeans. These were technically his employers. He had to make a good impression, right?

Apparently not, seeing as Forde and Ephraim showed up to the orientation in cargo shorts and t-shirts. He is very close to hitting them over it. ‘ _ We’re gay, we’re supposed to be better than this.’ _

“You look nice, Kyle!” Forde smiles at him and he feels like maybe their outfits don’t matter anymore. 

The orientation itself is pretty boring. They get a tour around the shelter (and get warned to never touch the washing machine), choose which of the animals they’re going to work with (Ephraim chooses for them: cats), get tested to make sure they know what animal body language looks like (they do), and get their uniform t-shirts (bright blue with the shelter’s name on the front and the word volunteer on the back). Kyle doesn’t understand why that has to take 2 hours, but whatever. Their first shift is the next day.

After the orientation, Kyle, Forde, and Ephraim all silently decide to go to the soccer field. While Kyle wasn’t planning on the company, he isn’t surprised to find them all at the same place.

“Why are we graduating?” asks Ephraim. Kyle rolls his eyes.

“Because we’ve finished school, dimwit.”

Ephraim shakes his head, saying, “No, I just-- I don’t think any of us are ready for that, yet. Do you?”

“Of course not. That doesn’t mean I can avoid it, though.” 

Forde speaks up, then. “I don’t know, I think we can make it.” He’s pulling the soccer ball out of the back of his car. They’ll play in a few minutes. Ephraim’s the captain of the team, this year, and Forde and Kyle are faithful assistant captains, he thinks. 

“What makes you say that?” Ephraim’s smiling, even if he sounds doubtful.

“Well, we’ve got a year before that even happens, and we’ve got it all sorted out so far, don’t we? We’re going to be soccer players and we’re going to do it together like we always have. Easy.” Kyle sighs.

“Mmm,” is all Ephraim gives in reply. His head jerks up, and Forde kicks the ball straight to him.

Time for an impromptu practice.

\--

It’s 12:30pm on a Saturday and Forde is awake, which is either a miracle or a sign of the apocalypse. 

Kyle thinks it’s a miracle because he’s at the shelter with him and Forde looks--  _ Wow. _

He’s tired, that’s clear, and his hair is messier than usual, but he looks happy, too. At peace. There’s a very slim, white cat in his lap named CeeCee who’s been at the shelter for a while because it’s difficult to take in a cat with kidney disease like her. She’s grouchy, but she seems content in Forde’s arms, and he looks like he’s in heaven.

Ephraim’s going around cleaning out the litter boxes, so it’s just them, now, grooming and playing with the cats, and Kyle feels like he’s somehow seen a side of Forde that he’s never seen before, even after 5 years of friendship. 

CeeCee begins purring and Forde’s face lights up even further, and Kyle thinks, ‘ _ Oh. Oh no. I love him. I’m in love with him. I love Forde. _ ’ It’s like something he’s known all of his life has been pointed out to him and now all he can see is that. Like, when someone tells you you can’t see your nose, and then you become conscious of how you should be able to see it but your mind blocks it out and it’s weird. Or when you notice your breathing and now you’re stuck paying attention to it.

“I have to. Uh. Go.”

“Kyle?”

“Be right back.” Kyle stands (slowly. He’s not going to scare CeeCee like that, he’s not a bitch) and definitely calmly leaves the room and then runs to the employee bathroom.

‘ _ I’m not going to survive another week with him, am I? This wasn’t worth it.’ _

Three months later, when Forde asks him to go to prom with him, he thinks it definitely wasn’t worth it, because Forde found out and was teasing him (or so he thought, until Forde showed up at his doorstep, drunk, and proclaiming his love). 

Two years later, when they are roommates in college, he thinks it definitely wasn’t worth it, because Forde is so very close (and uses that to his advantage by kissing and teasing him every moment he can). 

Six years later, when he’s on the soccer field, Forde next to him, he thinks it definitely wasn’t worth it, because Forde’s red face is still doing things to him, all those years later (and when Forde proposes to him after they win the FIFA World Cup, he nearly cries on live television).

Twelve years later, with their sons in between them on the couch, he realizes it was totally and completely worth it (and so do Forde and Skye and Linhardt).

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading !!! if you liked it, please leave a kudos/comment !!! if you wanna ask about my fe8 modern aus, i'm on twitter @kiralfonse and i would love to talk about anything fe8 !!!!!!  
if you're wondering how both aus are in this fic, the ending paragraph sections w/ parenthesis take place in one version of the au, while the other part doesnt !! (basically, forde stays home from prom with franz to watch bad movies and never tells kyle about his feelings and they dont get together for a while. forde becomes a shitpost youtuber. its fun)  
tomorrow: postcanon ashedue


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